


Never Alone

by Bloody_Willamina



Category: Andromeda (TV)
Genre: Comfort/Angst, Eventual Smut, M/M, Original Character(s), Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-12-18 23:00:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11884659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloody_Willamina/pseuds/Bloody_Willamina
Summary: A routine mission turns into a huge Collector setup. They believe Rhade has information that can help against the Abyss and they stop at nothing to try and get it out of him.





	1. Isolne in Flames

**Author's Note:**

> All the main characters will appear, but the main focus of this story is going to be Dylan and Telemachus. They start off with a lot of sexual tension, but it'll be awhile before they jump into bed together.
> 
> This also takes place shortly after the Commonwealth split up.
> 
> Unbeta'd, beware of typos; for which I apologize.

They had barely landed the slipfighter on Isolne, before things started to go wrong. The Andromeda crew had heard there was trouble on Isolne, and that some of the members of the True Commonwealth were being held hostage. Dylan had requested that Telemachus join him on the mission. It wasn't the most comfortable idea for Rhade, but he wasn't going to disobey an order. The trip down in the slipfighter felt strained and awkward. Telemachus was still learning to fit in with the crew and knew most of them didn't like him; based on their past experience with Tyr Anazazi. In Rommie's case, she probably didn't trust him because of what his ancestor did. Dylan seemed to trust him, and rely on him, at least lately. Rhade wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he had to wonder why Dylan was so willing to trust him. He wasn't Gaheris, but he still had **his** blood in him, and he was Nietzchean.

Then there was that other thing.

Whenever he was around Dylan, he could hear his heartbeat quicken and smell Dylan's arousal. At first, Rhade had thought it was because of Beka, Rommie, Trance, or all three combined. He had even thought his arousal was for Harper once when he Harper and Dylan were all on the bridge alone one night. It was so bad, Rhade started to believe, not for the first time, if Dylan had slept with everyone on his crew; everyone except him. But when he saw and smelt all the signs of attraction whenever they were alone together, Rhade came to the realization that Dylan was attracted to him. Some Alpha Nietzchean's were known to take a male consort if there was mutual attraction between them and the male had somehow proven himself superior to that of other males. The more Rhade had thought about it, the more he wanted to try something with Dylan. He'd endure and risk any possible heartbreak it brought, because he felt Dylan was worth it. Only Dylan never made a move, never acted on his attraction.

It's why he had asked Dylan in the slipfighter if he and Gaheris had been lovers. Dylan had sputtered nonsense in shock of the question before he avoided answering the question altogether. Rhade sighed softly as he exited the ship. He had to assume that's why Dylan was attracted to him, but also why he wouldn't make a move. Telemachus could live with that, it'd be better than always being compared to Gaheris or being second best to his ancestor.

"Where'd that question even come from?" Dylan asked, though he sounded too defensive to just be curious.

Rhade shrugged but didn't miss a step, as he progressively walked further away from Dylan. "Just forget it."

"Hey. Rhade...Telemachus."

Telemachus wasn't going to stop, but a sound came from the fighter that wasn't normal. Both men turned to look at the ship. The noise continued, before it stopped and smoke began to rise.

"Harper..."Dylan spoke under his breath in annoyance.

"Let me guess, Harper failed to fix or overhaul our slipfighter."

Dylan didn't say anything at first. "It appears that way."

"That spikey-haired midget."

"Calm down Rhade. I'll have a talk with him when we get back to the ship."

"Don't bother." Rhade growled loudly, which gave Dylan chills.

"Rommie."Dylan spoke into his vocal implant.

"Yes Captain?"

"We're going to need a pickup soon. How's Beka and Harper doing?"

"They're surveying this system's asteroid belt for any reinforcements or surprises. However the asteroid's are laced with heavy radiation, it's not dangerous, but it is making it difficult to send and receive signals. Trance and I can come down to pick you guys up."

"Not yet. Rhade and I are going to look for the hostages. We may need a hasty retreat once we locate them though."

"Copy. Trance and I will be standing by for Transport."

"Keep radio silence for now. Hunt out." As soon as he was done talking with Andromeda, Dylan caught Rhade around the arm. "Are you having a problem with Harper?"

Rhade slipped his arm free of Dylan's grasp. He hadn't been on the Andromeda for long, not as long as Dylan's original crew. They were the ones that had a problem with him, except for maybe Trance. She and Dylan were the only two that made an effort to make him feel welcome. If it was brought to Dylan's attention that he was having problems with the others, Dylan might be left with no choice but to get rid of him. He held no illusions that Dylan would side with him over his other crew that were like his family. No, if he wanted to continue working on board the Andromeda, then he'd have to deal with their insults, mistrust, and hate alone. "No."

"But if you are having problems with the crew, you'll let me know."

"Is that an order?"

Dylan was surprised by Rhade's comment and quickened his pace to keep up with him. "Hey stop." Reluctantly, Rhade stopped, his body rigid as he turned to stare at Dylan. "Do I need to make it an order?"

Rhade was stone-faced and Dylan couldn't read him at all. The Nietzchean was purposely keeping all his emotions in check, which alerted Dylan that there was something bothering him anyway. "Rhade." Dylan prompted.

"Maybe you picked the wrong guy to take Tyr Anazazi's place on your ship."

Dylan's eyes widened slightly and his eyebrows rose. "Are you telling me you made a mistake joining my ship?"

"I'm saying you made a mistake coming after me, busting me out of prison. You should have left me there."

"Even though your innocent?"

Rhade tried to turn away, but Dylan caught him again and wouldn't let him. "Choosing a Nietzchean didn't do you any favors."

Dylan didn't know Rhade was still having those thoughts and went silent. "You being a Nietzchean has nothing to do with anything...It shouldn't." Dylan added softly when he saw Rhade's defiant expression. Most of the Nietzchean's had betrayed the Commonwealth, again, and Dylan knew the popular opinion of Nietzchean's wasn't a pleasant one before he started rebuilding the Commonwealth. And sadly, it's only gotten worse for Nietzchean's since Tyr's ascension and acts against the renewed Commonwealth. "If you're having problems with the crew because you're Nietzchean, I want to know. Tyr did sour their views on Nietzchean's, but I'd like to think they're above being racist."

He saw Rhade relax a little bit and nod his head. "I'm picky over who works for me; I want only the best, and those I can trust. You're my friend Telemachus, and it'd be a shame to lose you as a member of my crew."

Rhade blinked away his surprise,"Sir?"

"Well if you're considering leaving my crew..."

"I'm not...not anymore, Captain. And it won't cross my mind again."

"Good. Now let's go rescue those hostages."

They started heading off in the direction of the coordinates they had received. "Oh and Rhade?"

"Hmmm?" Rhade grunted.

"Call me Dylan."

There was a nod, which Dylan viewed as an acceptable response. They walked in companionable silence for a few minutes, but Rhade interrupted it. "Uh Dylan?"

"Yes Telemachus?"

"Does something feel off to you?"

Dylan's entire posture changed and he went on alert at Rhade's words. He gazed around at their surroundings, frowning as he did so. "You're right." Isolne looked different. "Isolne was never really all that habitable, but it was never a barren wasteland. There's nothing but rock, dirt and caves around. Isolne's never had this many caves. This looks like some kind of tunnel network. This has to be artificial, and you know what that means. Our hostages are going to be that much harder to find."

"Yes, but there's something else."

Dylan grew closer when he saw the almost pained look of his weapons officer. "What else do you sense Rhade?"

The Nietzchean gazed around before he flicked his head. This did nothing to ease him and Rhade put a hand to his head. "I have...a headache, I think."

Dylan was about to make light of his situation, until he remembered that his kind didn't have to deal with those pesky ailments. Sometimes he envied Nietzcheans. But if Rhade was suffering from a headache then there had to be something else going on. "A headache?"

Rhade confirmed his status. "It's got to be. I felt a light buzz in the air earlier, this constant hum, too low for you to pick up on, but you'll still be able to feel the effects of it if we remain here too long. It feels like an electrical current, but I could be wrong. It's not enough to damage us, but there's too much of it to be a natural phenomenon."

"And you think this electrical current running through the air is causing your headache?"

"Possibly. It could be responsible for the ultra-low hum, the one affecting my mood and causing this pain in my head. But I can't be sure if the two are interconnected."

Dylan patted Rhade's shoulder,"Lets operate under the assumption that they're connected. We'll have to make use of that genetic hearing of yours. If you can lead us to whatever's causing that noise, we just may find the hostages. And even if we don't we'll be able to turn the device off and stop the effect it's having on you. It's the best lead we've got so far. Seeing how these coordinates have a good chance of leading us into a trap or are just decoy coordinates to keep us far away from the hostages."

"I can't."

"Oh come on Rhade." Dylan lightly shoved at his friend. "I know you don't usually experience headaches, but if you focus, you'll be able to lead us the right way. I trust you and in your abilities."

"Flatter me all you want Dylan, but it won't change anything. I can't do it because the noise is coming from all directions and the electrical current is in the very air itself."

"Well crap." Dylan headed over to the nearest cave entrance. "Guess we'll have to search the old fashioned way."

Reaching for his force lance, he brought it up and aimed it in front of him; Rhade followed suit and together they walked into the first cave. They weren't far into it, before Dylan was proven right. The cave split off into five different tunnels. "Which one Rhade?"

Rhade closed his eyes letting his acute hearing focus away from the hum and down all five different tunnels, listening for anything out of place. Beyond the hum, the only thing he could hear was Dylan's steady heartbeat and breathing. "I'm not hearing or smelling anything out of the ordinary. The hostages are either too far away, or there' in another cave-tunnel system."

"Alright. We'll have to proceed under the assumption that they're not in this cave."

They headed back the way they came and the proceeded to check the next five caves with no success.

"Maybe we break radio silence and contact Trance and Rommie. Have them come down and help with the search. Or we could split up."

"We're not splitting up Rhade."

"Why not? That would be the most realistic approach. If you don't want to call Trance and Rommie down, then we should split up to cover more ground."

"I'm getting this feeling that something bad is about to happen, so we'll stick together. And there's a good chance the bad guys will detect a second slipfighter entering the planet's atmosphere. If they do, they'll start killing the hostages. "

"If there are any." Rhade growled out in annoyance.

"You're such a pessimist."

"Look Dylan. This could all be some ploy to capture you, or get all of us separated. I think we should break radio silence and get a pickup back to the Andromeda."

Dylan made note of his objection, before he nodded to the next cave and Rhade against his better judgment, followed him in. "It may come to that Rhade, but until we see evidence to the contrary, we have to continue looking for those hostages. If anything happened to those hostages, because we turned around and went back to the Andromeda, how would you feel?"

"I get your point." Rhade spoke through clenched teeth. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"You and me both." Dylan admitted.

Rhade frowned, but said nothing further. Before they knew it, they were facing four different tunnels and Dylan looked back at Rhade expectantly. "Nothing again?"

Rhade shook his head and silence fell between them on the walk out of the cave and all the way to the next cave entrance. This time, however, it wasn't companionable or friendly, and Dylan didn't like it one bit.

"You would have been better off if you had taken Trance with you. She would have known the right cave to go into. You two would have already gotten to the hostages by now."

Dylan wasn't sure if Telemachus was actually upset and jealous over his closeness to Trance or if it was the low hum he couldn't hear that was affecting Rhade. "Maybe." Dylan responded. "But I wanted you with me for this mission."

"Why? Did you need my Nietzchean senses or extra muscle?"

Dylan felt annoyance and anger at Rhade's bitter tone. "Maybe I just wanted your pleasant company, but your right. Next time I'll leave you on the ship." Dylan saw Rhade's body tense and the short wave of anger passed. "I didn't mean that the way it came out. And I didn't bring you along just to use your Nietzchean abilities for my own advantage. Though I do admit, they can come in handy. I just wanted to spend some extra time with you." There was a pause, as Dylan knew that last bit was a lie. "Are you sure there's nothing else bothering you?"

"Like what?"

The question was hostile and angry and Dylan resisted to rise to the bait. He knew there had to be something else that was occupying Rhade's head, but the only thing he could think of was that crazy, out of the blue question about Gaheris. Maybe Telemachus still had issues, problems, or questions about his ancestor. Dylan had always thought he had come to terms with Gaheris after he learned of Gaheris' true betrayal. But maybe he hadn't and he was just better at hiding it or acting like he was fine with everything. "Does this have anything to do with Gaheris?" Dylan ran a hand over his face, but nodded to himself. He had always had a problem talking about Gaheris in the past, but it was still Telemachus' great, great, great grandfather; he deserved to know about his ancestor, even more so that he was the genetic reincarnation of Gaheris. "If you have any questions about Gaheris, I'll do what I can to answer them. Starting with the one you asked me in the slipfighter."

He took a deep breath and then plunged forward,"No. Gaheris and I were not lovers. I never even thought about it. Sarah and I were already dating when I first met Gaheris. He did become my best friend, but I never was tempted to cheat on Sarah. I don't know how he felt about me, however. I always thought he viewed me as a friend, and with as many wives that he had...I just assumed he didn't see me that way." When Rhade didn't immediately respond, Dylan added. "But I mean, he could have? That's not a question I can really answer."

His Nietzchean still didn't respond and it worried Dylan. He wasn't sure why Rhade wanted to know in the first place. It seemed like it went beyond mere curiosity. Moving quickly, Dylan's hands shot out, and he grabbed Rhade to spin him around to face him. He was hoping he'd catch him trying to suppress some emotions so he could gleam a little bit of whatever was going through his mind. Dylan was not prepared for what he saw. "Rhade!"

Telemachus' eyes were wide open and his jaw was clenched in pain. His bone blades were stretched out because of it. Instinct telling him to anticipate a battle due to the pain his body was in. His hands kept tightening into fists at his sides as well. This was not just a headache. Dylan knew he was keeping his pain inside, but he still wasn't sure if it was Nietzchean pride or if Rhade was still trying to prove something to him or to himself.

"It's getting worse." Rhade managed to spit out in anger.

"But that's good right? We must be getting closer."

"No, it's bad. It's very bad. We need to leave now."

"Rhade we just went over this. We can't leave until we find those-"

Rhade easily got out of Dylan's grasp and then grabbed Dylan by the hand. "You need to trust me."

His hand was warm, firm, and his grasp was certainly strong. Dylan felt his face grow hot, despite the pain he still saw on Rhade's face and his friend's dire tone of voice concerned him. Removing his hand from Rhade's, he saw the hurt in Rhade's eyes before it was covered up. "I do trust you." Dylan, however, couldn't help but give one final look down the different tunnels, guilt rising over the fact that they were abandoning the hostages to their fates. "Lead the way."

As soon as Dylan gave the all clear, Rhade ran down the cave, back out the way they had come in. Dylan chased after him, but didn't feel the same sense of urgency until they were out of the cave. It had been a dark, gloomy day down on the planet's surface when they had first landed, but nothing compared to what Dylan was looking at. The sky had turned jet black, save for a couple dark grey clouds. It wasn't raining or storming, but there was a definite sense of foreboding. There was also this nasty buzz in the air that made Dylan feel lightheaded and sick. It had to be the same electrical current Rhade had been talking about and now that he was out of the caves it was affecting him. "I feel strange." Dylan spoke, but still followed Rhade as they made their way back to the ship.

"Rommie." Dylan broke their silence. "We're going to need that evac now!"

"It's too late." Rhade warned.

"There's too much interference. I can't get through to the Andromeda."

But like Rhade had warned, things made a turn for the worst. A deep rumble sounded from beneath them that got louder, until the ground the stood on began to move and shake. The quakes were awful, and Dylan almost lost his footing three times, until he finally fell to the ground on his fourth stumble. There was no hesitation to Rhade's movements. As soon as he had heard Dylan's body thump to the ground, he turned, ran over, and knelt beside him. "Can you get up?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me." Slowly, he moved to stand up, cautious with the tremors progressively building on each other in preparation for a massive quake. Neither man wanted to be around when that happened. However, as soon as his body jerked into another position, pain shot up from his foot and through his leg.

There was no time to be alarmed or to inspect his foot. "Sorry."

Before Dylan had a chance to ask what for, more pain was jarred from his injured foot. Rhade had lifted him up, hitting Dylan's foot once more on the way up. He shouldered most of Dylan's weight as he moved them in the right direction once more. Dylan couldn't be mad or even scold Rhade, because he knew there was no time left. His arm was around Rhade's broad neck and shoulder, and while both of his feet were on the shaky ground, Rhade was practically carrying him off.

"What's going on Rhade?"

Their trek slowed due to Dylan's injury, but Rhade tried to keep their momentum. "I don't know for sure, but all of my instincts are driving me back to the ship. All those things that had felt off, what I'm feeling right now...my best guess is an extinction level event."

"You rea-"Dylan was cut off when a loud roaring and tearing noise ripped through the air. The ground beneath them began to splinter and crack open. "Isolne is going to explode." Dylan was stunned and could hardly believe it. The last time he had checked, the system's sun was nowhere near turning supernova, and it didn't have any harmful radiation. The occasional solarflare activity that would last years, which made Isolne a poor choice for colonization. But there was nothing that the sun gave off that could explain the situation. "What could cause this to happen?"

"You tell me." Rhade said, more in a bid to keep Dylan talking. Even if they did make it to the ship in time, there'd be no way for them to fly it; Thanks Harper. So Rhade was sure this was the end, they were going to die. But at least he'd be able to hear Dylan's voice until the end.

"I don't know. There's nothing emitted from the sun that would cause this destabilization. Either, it's some other natural occurrence, or...someone or something has rigged up a device of some sort to cause the planet to blow."

"My money's on option two. Since we landed on Isolne, everything has seemed so artificial. Like we're in one huge mouse trap."

"Sheep's led to the slaughter. And they picked the perfect bait for us. Innocent lives."

There may have still been innocent people on the planet, but Dylan was starting to suspect Rhade had been right. There were no hostages and it was one big trap for them and the rest of the Andromeda crew. He just couldn't comprehend that this was the end.

"We're not dead yet." As though Rhade had been reading his mind.

Unfortunately, Dylan had lied to Rhade. Telemachus had not been his first choice for the mission. Locating hostages would have been Trance's forte and he had gone to her first. She didn't mention any of the potential danger, just that it had to be Rhade. Though thinking back on it, Dylan noted she looked rather upset when she mentioned Rhade. Was he somehow going to survive and Rhade wasn't? Had that been why Trance was so sad? Why would she purposely send Rhade to his death if that was the case? "We've just lost." His voice managed to come through the clamor, howls, and entropy around them.

A curse flew out of Rhade's mouth as they looked to the clearing where they had landed. A huge gaping chasm lay there, and their slipfighter had presumably fallen into it, lost and irretrievable. The booming and roaring reached a crescendo, continuing to escalate into unbearable levels. Suddenly, there was a rip that resounded above them and ruptured across the blackened sky. A red and gold haze, like fire, spread across the sky lighting the atmosphere up. It was almost beautiful, if it wasn't about to kill them.

"You scared Rhade?"

"Nietzchean's believe surviving the greatest odds is the best proof of superiority. I think, True Nietzchean's are able to accept their end, and if they are superior they will face it with honor and dignity." Nothing but the sound of the planet crackling apart was heard. That is until he heard Rhade's voice come into his ear, uncertainty very present in his tone. "But I admit, I'm terrified."

Rhade's head bent slightly in shame and Dylan watched his friend carefully. He jumped slightly and tensed when some of the landscape broke apart and fell into newly formed sinkholes. "So am I, Rhade. So am I."

Rhade's hold on him tightened, but he still didn't look up. Dylan leaned in and his hair brushed against Rhade's cheek. "Hey-" Telemachus turned slightly to look into Dylan's eyes and their noses touched, by how close they were. "It was an honor to serve with you, Dylan."

Dylan gave a smile to his weapon's officer. "And it was an honor to serve with a True and Superior Nietzchean, Rhade." Rhade's eyes widened slightly, and Dylan's smile increased. "Your fear doesn't eliminate your honor and dignity, Telemachus." His words were genuine.

Rhade was facing the end the way he believed Nietchean's should and Dylan commended him for it. The wind gusted, the ground crumbled, and the atmosphere had began to decay. It was getting harder to breathe and any second the planet would break into nothing but rocks and cosmic dust floating through space. Yet, looking into each other's eyes, none of it seemed to matter anymore. With the end upon them, Dylan had nothing else to lose. He made a grab for Rhade and their lips touched in a desperate kiss. The awkward angle didn't phase either man. The knowledge of their inevitable deaths and the emotion fueling them kept their focus. All they saw and felt was each other. The electrical current reached an all time high as it lit up the ground they were standing on at the same time the ground tore into pieces. They clung to each other, their mouths still moving together as they began to fall.

* * *

 

Up above them, in space, the Andromeda was orbiting the dying world.

"Andromeda, you need to back off and reach a safer distance." Trance yelled.

The A.I showed no emotion, but had looked to Rommie. The Android was shaking her head as she looked out at Isolne. "We can't. What about Dylan? What about Rhade?"

Trance's wide, sad eyes landed on Rommie. "There's nothing we can do for them right now. But if we are still in orbit when Isolne explodes, we will not survive."

Rommie didn't like it, Dylan was her Captain and she didn't feel right abandoning him or even Rhade.

"Harper and Beka are alone in the asteroid belt. If they run into trouble, they'll need backup. If Dylan were here what would he want us to do?"

The A.I was still staring at her Android counterpart with great skepticism before it answered for her. "Dylan would order us to leave him behind and provide Beka with support. This could be some trap."

"And Beka and Harper might be in trouble and we'd never know,"Rommie finished for her A.I.

Trance was acting Captain, and the Andromeda trusted her. The ship backed off to a safe distance, and not a moment too soon. Once they had reached a safe distance Isolne cracked under the strain and a shockwave from the explosion hit the Andromeda. It shook the ship, but there was minimal damage at best. Rommie observed the rocks where Isolne use to be and felt the tears threaten to fall. "Trance, tell me he's still alive, or tell me that it was at least fast."

Trance was also staring at the destroyed planet,"Rommie-"

"There's trouble. Several ships have entered the system and they're headed towards the asteroid belt."

"Andromeda, set a course to the asteroid belt, best speed." Trance was still gazing out the view screen as they slowly turned away from Isolne. Trance spoke softly under her breath. "I'm sorry, Telemachus Rhade."


	2. Lost in the Depths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished writing chapter 4, so hopefully I'll be able to get the next few chapters typed up and uploaded shortly. Nothing too mature to worry about in this chapter. I may also end up doing more Andromeda fanfiction in the future. Gotta give Rhade (my favorite) some more love.

Once they were in range, Trance and Rommie saw the ships firing into the asteroid belt.

 

"Nietzchean fighters." Trance announced.

 

Though they were currently a skeleton crew, Rommie was confident she'd do well against them. "Why is it always Nietzcheans?" Rommie asked annoyed.

 

"There is a way out of this. Everything will turn out okay."

 

"What are your orders?" The Andromeda had just entered firing range. "They're not targeting us." The A.I stated.

 

"Have they seen us?" Trance asked.

 

"Unknown." Rommie spoke, her eyes were unfocused as she processed several scenario's and possibilities. "The destruction of Isolne may be causing scanner malfunctions."

 

"Or," Trance supplied,"They have noticed us and they just don't care."

 

"They know the Eureka Maru is in the Asteroid belt, though. They may be firing blindly, but they'll eventually get a lucky shot in. When they do they'll get a fix on the Eureka Maru."

 

A frown pulled at Trance's face. All life was precious and she could feel the lives on the Nietzchean fighters. They were just following the orders of a corrupt regime. She almost knew each individual life on those vessels. Still, Beka and Harper were her friends and she deeply cared for both of them. If she had to choose and she had been put in the position where she had to, she'd always choose to save their lives first. "We're going to provide support to the Eureka Maru. Lay down covering fire. Wherever the Eureka Maru is, Beka will see. She'll use the barrage, if she can, to get out of the asteroid belt and back onto our ship. Be ready Andromeda, the moment we open fire, some of them will break off and target us."

 

The hologram popped up; she, the A.I and Rommie all looked to Trance. "When they target us, what are your orders?"

 

Trance gave a hard and determined expression,"The moment they target us, hit them and hit them hard."

 

"Destroy their ships, Aye, Acting Captain Gemini."

 

As predicted, the second Andromeda opened fire, even though it was covering fire, a third of the fighters broke away. They both targeted and opened fire on the Andromeda. They were no match for Rommie. Their ships were destroyed, but not before they got off a few shots. "Incoming Missiles."

 

"Evasive action." Trance shouted. The ship moved to dodge the attack and Trance lurched with the ship.

 

"The rest of the fighters are breaking off their search for the Eureka Maru and are coming after us."

 

"This seems too easy." Trance gazed into her screen, before looking out at the viewscreen. "I'm missing something." She gasped out, lost her grip, and fell backwards when the Nietzchean's missiles landed.

 

"Trance." Rommie's voice was firm, trying to get her attention back on the enemies in front of them. "We can worry about all that later."

 

There was a short nod,"Re...Return fire."

 

"Aye." Rommie spoke as she launched her own missiles. They destroyed some of them, evaded some of the missiles that came their way, a few more hits landed on Andromeda, but the fight was soon over. It was far shorter than it should have been and Trance was certain, more than ever, that something else was going on. "Incoming transmission."

 

"Onscreen."

 

Beka's face flooded the view screen, it was fuzzy, and the picture wasn't clear because of the radiation, but it was Beka. It was a pleasant sight and Trance smiled brightly at her friend. "Your timing was impeccable Andromeda."

 

"Are you both alright?"

 

"We almost got flambéed by the radiation, shiskabobbed by the Nietzchean's and charred on the open flame-"

 

Beka rolled her eyes at Seamus. "Harper and I are both okay."

 

"Okay? OKAY!?" Harper's voice rose an octave.

 

Rommie cut over Harper before he went into a long winded rant. "The Eureka Maru is cleared to dock, Beka." She couldn't understand what the holdup was.

 

"Yeah, about that....we can't. This entire asteroid belt is one huge minefield."

 

"I'm not detecting anything on my scanners."

 

Beka scoffed,"You wouldn't be able to even if this radiation wasn't here. These mines are incredible low tech. They're undetectable to advanced scanners and from what Harper can tell they're very durable. Someone went through a lot of trouble to place all these mines and they were placed in hard to reach places."

 

"Yeah, you have to be right on top of them to even know they're there, and by then it's too late. We found that out the hard way, how many times boss? Five?"

 

Five mines had detonated under the Eureka Maru? This did not bode well. Trance gave Beka a harder look,"How's the Eureka Maru holding up?"

 

"We're crippled. We won't be going anywhere until repairs are finished." Her eyes slanted over in Harper's general direction.

 

There was an indignant yelp. "Fine, fine. I'll get started on it right away."

 

"In the meantime Beka, is there anything else we can do to help?"

 

"Better not do what I think you're planning. The Nietzchean's fire did set off a few of the mines, but we have no idea how many are in here and we have no way to detect them. You'd be a bigger target and it'd be harder for you to evade them. You should stay a reasonable distance away from the belt. The best help you can provide is to watch our backs. You may have defeated all of the Nietzchean ships, but someone definitely planted all these mines. Who knows, they may come back to see what set off all their toys. And we're sitting ducks."

 

"Acknowledged. Keep us in the loop."

 

"Oh and Beka." Trance's voice came as a warning. "Stay alert. Please."

 

She gave her friend a smirk. "Always. Why? Are you sensing something out of the ordinary?"

 

Trance shook her head,"Nothing concrete. But I expect we're not out of the woods yet. There will be greater trials before the end."

 

Beka nodded,"So there will be more things trying to kill us today."

 

"Just another day at the office," Harper yelled from the back.

 

"Harper-"

 

"I could use some help back here boss."

 

"Yeah. Eureka Maru out." Beka had cut the comm link.

 

Rommie walked over to Trance, several questions that she wanted to ask. But she stuck to a single thought. "You didn't inform Beka about Isolne exploding, or that Dylan and Rhade were still on the planet when it did. Why?"

 

"She has enough to deal with at the moment, don't you think?"

 

"That's true, and Beka does have a tendency to react on her emotions."

 

The hologram rocked on the balls of her feet. "Worrying would serve Beka no purpose. She needs to focus on the Eureka Maru right now."

 

"Exactly." Trance stated. "There will be plenty of time to tell them both later."

* * *

 

As they fell down into the depths of Isolne, they were too centered on each other to notice that the earth around them had lit up. A floating sensation passed between them, but they both mistook it for their own fears, and hopelessness. Solid ground had formed beneath them so suddenly. If it hadn't been for Rhade's genetic modification, they both would have fallen onto a heap on the floor. As it was, Rhade's superior reflexes had kicked in and he broke their kiss and staggered before bracing himself on the wall and keeping a hold of Dylan to keep him upright. With ground now beneath them, and their ended kiss, they both observed where they were and tried to figure out what had just happened. Dark grey walls surrounded them, and stretched on for quite a ways. Hard floor is what they stood on, not the crumbling ground of Isolne. The sounds of a world shattering had stopped. All that was before them now was a narrow hallway.

 

"I've heard the human expression of Earth-moving kisses, but this is ridiculous."

 

This caused Dylan to crack a smile,"Are we dead?"

 

Rhade tipped his head in thought. "I don't think so."

 

"Good, because I'd hate to think this was the afterlife. The good or the bad one."

 

There was a short shrug of Rhade's shoulder, which Dylan still had his arm around. "It could always be some form of Purgatory."

 

Dylan sighed softly,"Let's go with the assumption that we're not dead and nobody's trying to kill us."

 

"Yet."

 

"Such a pessimist."

 

A scan down the hallway did confirm that they were alone, at least temporarily. Rhade gave him a warm smile. "A reasonable assessment based on prior experience."

 

"Ah, Tomato, tomahtoe." Dylan gazed into the intensity in Rhade's eyes. He felt he needed to talk to him, explain and justify his actions. He didn't want Rhade to get the wrong idea. "Telemachus...about..." Dylan ran a hand over his face, feeling more awkward then anything else for even bringing the topic up. "About that kiss."

 

He saw Rhade regard him with interest. It almost made Dylan decide to ignore it, let it pass. The way Rhade was staring at him gave him a shiver down his spine that he didn't want, and didn't want to analyze.

 

"What about it Dylan?"

 

Nervously, Dylan licked at his lips, noticing Rhade's eyes instantly were drawn down to the movement, watching his tongue with rapt attention. He awkwardly turned away from Rhade. "I wanted you to know that it didn't mean anything. Nothing serious."

 

Rhade's entire demeanor had changed at Dylan's declaration. He was no longer relaxed, going back to his stiff and rigid posture. His eyes became hard and guarded; nothing was going to get passed his barriers. Gone was the warmth and love that had been reflected in his brown orbs. Instead, all that was in his eyes was duty and loyalty. Everything Dylan needed and wanted of him, because Dylan needed a soldier and friend; not a complication. His smile was also gone, replaced by a stern expression-it's sole focus to find a way out of there. However, Dylan had missed all that. He was wrapped up in his own awkwardness and having to talk about it in the first place. "Isolne was exploding and we were both pretty certain we were going to die. That's an intense emotion, and a lot of stress and fear..." Dylan was rambling on, before he stopped himself. "The point is, that kiss never would have happened normally. It was because of the situation, and nothing more."

 

"Of course." Was Rhade's short reply. He was no longer open, but he also didn't give himself away. His words, albeit short, sounded logical and accepting of the explanation. It wasn't entirely surprising, but Rhade did feel some disappointment, he also felt used. And though he knew some part of Dylan found him attractive, it was obvious that Dylan didn't want to act on it at all, or he hadn't realized his attraction. But the second was wishful thinking.

 

"It..." Came Dylan's nervous tone of voice. "It didn't mean anything to you, did it?"

 

"No." Rhade lied. But it was a lie he could live with. Dylan needed a friend, someone who was loyal, and Rhade could give him that. Rhade wasn't willing to mess up one of the best things that ever happened to him, due to a silly crush on his Captain. If the conversation ever came up again, which he assumed this was meant to be the end of it and it wouldn't come up again, Rhade would never admit to any feelings other then that of friendship and admiration.

 

"So what now?" Dylan's voice was full of relief and his eyes were scanning the hallway before them. The Captain had already decided their next course of action, but Rhade needed to check something before they got moving.

 

"First, I'm going to take a look at your foot now that we've got time."

 

Unable to argue with Rhade's idea, Dylan let go of Rhade and propped himself up against the wall. Telemachus bent down to the ground and carefully and with more finesse then Dylan would have thought Rhade was capable of, his boot was removed. It had barely hurt, though a wince still formed on his face.

 

"Sorry." Rhade's voice was low while he slipped off Dylan's sock.

 

He gazed down to observe Rhade carefully. He had hit a tender spot, and Dylan sucked in a sharp gasp of air. Rhade still had a light hold on his foot as he continued to inspect it. "So, what's the prognosis, Doctor Rhade?"

 

Rhade lifted up a single eyebrow. "Thought Trance was our ships medical officer." He shrugged and took the 'promotion' for whatever it was worth. "There's no break, which is the good news. You have some bruising on the top of your foot, it's already forming. I think you've also sprained it pretty good. The bad news, there's no medical equipment or first aid to treat it, and we don't have anything to wrap your foot up with."

 

"So I'll have to suffer through it, until we find supplies to use around here, or until we find a way out of here and get back to the Andromeda."

 

"My medical and expert opinion? We should search through any rooms we might come across. While I doubt there will be medical equipment or weapons lying around for us to pick up, we might be able to find something useful. We either dropped our weapons and equipment on Isolne...or something else happened to them. But we literally only have the clothes on our backs."

 

"Agreed." Dylan grunted as his sock was slowly put back on. Next came the boot. He squinted his eyes shut, but was once again surprised that Rhade slipped his boot on without further damage to his foot.

 

"Alright, so it's pretty clear we're not on Isolne anymore." Dylan shifted his weight back onto Rhade, while he talked. Rhade started walked down the hall, helping Dylan as he limped. "Any ideas?"

 

After a few more steps, Dylan finally came up with one. "Maybe...We're still on Isolne, all the Earth shattering and the destruction could have been some elaborate interactive holographic projection." It was feasible, and his team had definitely seen stranger.

 

"You'd have to have a lot of power, and a huge generator to pull something like that off. Although that gives me an idea, Captain. Do you think we could have been transported?"

 

Dylan had caught Rhade's slip of Captain, but as they were discussing their situation, he chose to ignore it. "Transported? I don't see how. Except for Trance, I've only witnessed instant transportation once. Harper, with some help from the Persiad's, were able to transport objects and a person through time, but we were connected to a black hole at the time..."

 

"Captain?" Rhade asked, noticing Dylan's expression and knowing the man was thinking of something. He had an idea.

 

"Kind of like the power of an exploding planet. Theoretically, someone could have used the power from Isolne's core blowing up to rig a teleportation device to transport us."

 

"Where?"

 

"With that kind of power triggering the device, I imagine we could be placed anywhere in the known universe."

 

"Wonder if we could actually be in uncharted space as well. Captain, I can only think of one group that would have access to that kind of power and knowledge."

 

"Yeah. Collectors. Great." They made their way to the end of the hall and turned the corner. It was another long hallway in front of them, and though they both felt like they were being led into a trap, it was the only option they had. At least there were a couple doors on either side of the hall. They'd get to search those rooms and see if they led elsewhere or if there was anything in them that they could use.

 

"Captain, if it's the Collectors..." Rhade stopped his train of thought.

 

As he waited for the end of Rhade's statement, Dylan's eyebrows shot up. He expected more than silence, and he was pretty sure he knew what Rhade wanted to say. When Rhade never completed his sentence, Dylan moved his hand to capture the Nietzchean's attention. "Spit it out Rhade."

 

Rhade stopped to contemplate the curious expression before he sighed. "I was just wondering if the Collectors were still after me or angry with me."

 

"Well let's do a quick recap, Rhade. They did do their best to set you up to look like a traitor. Then they had you imprisoned, and with my help, you escaped their reach. You are indirectly responsible for the death of the Nietzchean leader, Tyr. Someone they were no doubt using for their own goals. With Tyr out of the picture, many of the Nietzchean's are fractured and fighting among themselves again. So whatever their plans, they're gone or have been set back. Then the Collectors came after all of us, using you as the catalyst which resulted in a civil war within the Commonwealth. And now, now we seem to have landed in a big trap set by the Collectors."

 

"That's it? You had me worried that I had really pissed them off."

 

Unable to help himself, Dylan laughed at Rhade's attitude over their current situation. He was definitely rubbing off on Rhade, and the inexperienced man was turning into a fine soldier and a reliable friend. "This whole trap may be in order to get back at you, but we also have to consider that this has nothing to do with you."

 

They arrived at the first door, and Rhade waited for Dylan's nod before opening it, his bone blades out and ready to attack. A sweep of the room and Rhade's acute senses proved there were no enemies lying in wait. Rhade continued their conversation where it had left off. "You may be right. But it was no coincidence that I was on that planet with you, trapped here by the Collectors. Weren't you the one that taught me not to trust or believe in coincidences?"

 

He had Dylan there. Who knows? Maybe that's why Trance told him he had to take Rhade with him. Maybe he just needed to face the collectors and overcome them on his own. It was going to be a fight for survival in any case. "We go into this ordeal with clear heads Rhade. Don't assume anything." Hopefully they'd have a better chance of getting out of their predicament alive that way.

 

"Understood, Captain."

 

"I thought we went over this already Rhade. You can call me Dylan." He had thought they were good enough friends, enough that they could drop the formalities. No one else on his crew had ever called him Captain, with the exception of Andromeda. But she had since dropped the formalities when they weren't in the middle of a battle. Telemachus was the only one who called him that now and it bugged him. He had enjoyed the nostalgic experience it had given him, especially coming from Rhade, but the novelty had since worn off. Dylan couldn't help it, he had gotten use to the casual relationships he had developed with the crew of the Eureka Maru. He knew if he had kept that professional distance that all Captains were suppose to keep, he wouldn't still be alive. Or worse, he'd have snapped and gone insane. They were his family now and he couldn't continue on without them. He wanted to count Rhade among his family, but there were two things that held him back. All he could guess was that Rhade had picked up on that.

 

"Sit." Rhade responded.

 

Rhade had just ignored him and Dylan found he didn't like that one bit. Still, Dylan looked to the chair that Rhade was pointing to. It didn't look uncomfortable, but there was so much dust caked into the chair that had him hesitating. "Is that an order Lieutenant Commander?"

 

Rhade's mouth went dry, feeling a prickle of something, perhaps arousal, over Dylan using his rank. "As the acting medical officer, yes. It is an order and as I am your doctor for the moment, you don't outrank me. So don't argue with me and sit down."

 

There was a sigh and an eye-roll, but Dylan did listen and sat down. As soon as he had, a plume of dust catapulted into the air. Dylan's glare was short-lived when he observed what Rhade was up to. His bone blades were extended as he hovered near the lone couch in the room. The cushions looked like they were made of a very thin material, and Rhade tore into it and shredded the material clean off of the furniture. A smirk played itself on Dylan's face, and Dylan wasted no time in removing his boot again. It wasn't long before Rhade had torn the fabric into tatters. Kneeling down in front of Dylan, he started to wrap his foot up with the fabric. It certainly wasn't perfect but they needed every advantage they could get. What they really needed were weapons to defend themselves with, but they both knew they weren't going to find any just laying about in one of the rooms.

 

"What do you want from me, Rhade?" Dylan's voice interrupted the silence.

 

"I've already told you."

 

Dylan watched the top of Rhade's head closely. "You came to learn. You wanted to become a better Nietzchean." Dylan listed the different reasons Rhade had given back when he had first joined his crew, though he believed those reasons even less now.

 

"Exactly."

 

"That's fine, but I didn't mean in relation to joining my crew. What do you want from me, personally?"

 

There was a slight pause in his movements before he resumed wrapping Dylan's foot. "I..." Rhade had to re-wrap a portion of Dylan's foot before continuing. "I don't know what you mean."

 

"Sure you do. You're not stupid Rhade and Seamus can make all the insults he wants; you're none of those things."

 

Rhade finished securing the wrap before he stood up a shrugged. "I guess I want, what everyone else would want. Your trust and friendship. That's not what you want...?"

 

There was a short pause while Dylan stalled for time by putting his boot back on. "Of course I do and you already have my trust."

 

"Fragile trust at best. I'm never going to have your full trust, am I? All because of him...Gaheris."

 

Dylan was careful as he stood up, but once he had regained his footing he was quick to grab Rhade with fistful's of his shirt and pull him in close. "Telemachus." His voice was dangerously low. "You are your own man. You're nothing like Gaheris and I don't want to ever hear you compare yourself to him again."

 

Telemachus spun them around, still having enough awareness left to be mindful of Dylan's injury. But in a bid to prove a point, Rhade led them to the nearest wall, backing Dylan up into it. He smirked ever so slightly when Dylan's back hit the wall effectively trapping his Captain. He was hoping Dylan would be fearful or be expecting him to betray him, just like his ancestor did. He often felt like Dylan was waiting for the other shoe to drop when he was around. Instead, he heard the quick intake of breath and the increase of Dylan's heartbeat. He leaned in noticing Dylan's eyes flick downward, and assumed the Captain was lying about his previous statement about their kiss. "Then why do you lie to me? If you truly trust me, then why?"

 

Dylan blinked his eyes in confusion. "I've never-" Rhade cut Dylan off with a look. "Okay, but I've only-"

 

"If you're going to tell me you've only lied with the best intentions, don't bother."

 

"Sorry." Dylan's soft voice interrupted Rhade's more boisterous tone. "You're right. And you were also right earlier."

 

It was Rhade's turn to look puzzled. "With what?"

 

"You weren't my first choice to go down to the planet with me. I did originally want Trance and asked her."

 

"That's not what I meant..." Rhade drifted off when he realized that he had been correct about Trance.

 

"Rhade. Telemachus. What did you mean?" He tried to ask for a third time.

 

Finally, he got a response. "Nothing. Just...What do you want from me?"

 

"Don't change the subject."

 

"I don't mean to, but this is important." Dylan watched Rhade and really looked at him after his words. It occurred to him that he and Rhade were still close together and he noticed the intensity in the Nietzchean's eyes. "I mean, I don't even know why you even let me join after everything I and my ancestor did to you. Why do you even see and accept me as part of your crew...your friend? I-I need to know what you want from me. It's important."

 

Dylan frowned slightly as he considered what Rhade had to say. He knew this was important to Rhade and he always wondered if Rhade had those issues based on their first meeting and on Gaheris' betrayal. To Dylan's regret, he had been judgmental and suspicious of Telemachus on account of Gaheris. He had cast him aside and disliked him right off the bat without ever giving him a chance. But at the same time, he did something to Dylan almost automatically that Gaheris had never done. Or rather it wasn't Telemachus' fault, but he found himself attracted to him, even though he had never felt that way towards Gaheris. That should have been his first clue that Telemachus was different; that he wasn't just a clone of Gaheris with the same mannerisms and mind. But his hurt and anger at Gaheris was all he could really think about and see. Unfortunately, Telemachus had to bare the brunt of his emotions. He even felt some suspicions about Telemachus when he made a reappearance in his life, transporting Tyr. But that didn't last long and before he knew it he had already considered Rhade part of his crew and was willing to risk it all to keep Rhade on the Andromeda and safe.

 

"Telemachus..." Dylan started. He didn't know how to proceed or how to tell Rhade what he wanted and what the Nietzchean meant to him, without going too far and stepping over the line. He wasn't yet comfortable with his attraction to Telemachus and hadn't figured out what he was actually feeling for him; so didn't want to tell him just yet. "I wasn't-" Dylan cut himself off when Rhade came in too close, invading Dylan's personal space. He could feel Rhade's breath on his face and his tightened grip on his arm. He didn't know how to react and he felt his cheeks grow hot. "Umm."

 

"Sh!" Rhade whispered as he covered Dylan's mouth. The Heavyworlder almost cursed himself for his weakness and for hoping Rhade was going to kiss him. Of course he wasn't, Dylan had told him he didn't want that and that had meant nothing to him. He gazed at Rhade, silent questions running through his head. His eyes must have given him away, because Rhade talked, albeit quietly. "I hear footsteps coming down the hall. They're getting closer, it's hard to tell, but I think there's four of them."

 

Dylan nodded mutely, and Rhade took that as his cue to let go of Dylan. They both got into positions, though neither had any weapons. Rhade moved to be beside the door, hidden when or if the door opened. He watched, transfixed as Rhade's bone blades rose into attack mode, eager and in anticipation for a fight. As long as they could disarm the attackers, Dylan was sure they'd have a good chance of getting out of there. And if their attackers didn't barge into the room, they could leave, go after them once they turned the corner and get the jump on them. Either or they were going to get some answers and get their hands on some weapons. They both heard a door down the hall open, and knew then that they were checking all the rooms. Whoever brought them to that facility was searching for them. It wouldn't be a long wait until the unknown assailants kicked down the door and a battle ensued. Dylan got into position on the other side of the door. And thought the substitute bandage did help, his foot still ached. The adrenaline of the fight would make the pain fade. He just hoped he didn't full on break it when all the action started. Dylan heard the mutterings of a voice back out in the hallway, but with the thick walls he couldn't make out any words. By the look on Rhade's face, Dylan knew the man had heard what the guys in the hallway were saying. Like Dylan had assumed, the wait hadn't been long. The first guy kicked the door open, in a show of unnecessary force. There was a loud noise and then everything seemed to blur in a flurry of motion.

 

Rhade was quick to slit the first guy's throat with his bone blades in one quick, elegant, and dangerous flick. His body fell forward, and the dying man dropped his gun in a vain effort to stop the bleeding. The other three guys rushed into the room, jumping over the dying man while firing their weapons. Dylan managed to punch the second guy through the door, enough to throw him off balance. Though Dylan was a bit off balance himself trying to dodge the wild firing. While Dylan made a leap behind the couch, for defense, Rhade dove for the gun the first guy had dropped. He had successfully rolled out of the way of gunfire, and then knocked over the dusty chair. Taking refuge behind it, he miraculously dodged all the bullets fired in his direction. Clutching the gun, he only peeked out above the chair, when the weapons fire died down. Pointing it out and firing proved fruitless and foolhardy. The gun triggered some sort of feedback loop and let off an electrical discharge. Rhade grunted out in pain as he was electrocuted. His body spasm-ed and Rhade finally dropped the gun and it clattered across the floor. He dropped back behind the chair, panting through the aftershocks.

 

Concerned for Rhade, Dylan had peeked out over the couch. "Rhade!" A gun shot grazed his shoulder, knocking him back and causing him to yell out in pain.

 

One of their attackers started laughing and the shooting stopped. Just like that, Dylan and Rhade had lost their momentum. Slowly, Dylan stood up, one hand just below his hurt shoulder. "We're unarmed and we surrender." Dylan spoke calmly. They had only opened fire after Rhade killed one of them. So he had to assume that whoever went through the trouble of getting them there, also wanted them alive. "Rhade..."

 

One of the guys, the one that had laughed turned to the overturned chair. "You can always go for the gun again, but it won't work. They're genetically keyed to a specific owner. Exactly like your force lances. If anyone else fires it, they get a nasty shock."

 

While the Commonwealth didn't share that information, it wasn't a difficult feat of engineering. Dylan was actually surprised they hadn't run into other species using the same type of security on their weapons. And while it was far from proof, it was another indication that the Collectors were behind this latest scheme.

 

Knowing they weren't going to be getting freedom, at least not at that moment, Rhade also stood up. "Captain?" Rhade inquired as his eyes glanced down at Dylan's shoulder, the scent of blood in the air.

 

"It's fine. I'll be fine." Dylan had attempted to reassure his friend.

 

"Shut up and get moving." Another man spoke up. Clearly unimpressed and very impatient.

 

Rhade waited until Dylan's nod, like the trained soldier he was, before he moved forward. Dylan still got to the armed guys first. He wasn't about to make Rhade do something he wasn't willing to do. The laughing guy did have a smug sneer directed at Dylan that Dylan was not happy about. However, the moment Rhade came closer, he turned his sneer onto the Nietzchean. If he had been unhappy with the look before, it didn't compare to now. He couldn't explain how unnerved he felt when he saw the look directed at hs weapons office. Blood dripped from his bone blades, which match the intense, stern gaze Rhade had.

 

"Perfect." The guy spoke as he went closer to Rhade, though something caused him to rethink his plans. "Just wait until the boss hears that his trap not only worked, but that we've got the one he wants."

 

Dylan could feel his blood run colder. A part of him suspected that Rhade was their primary target, that after all the shit they'd done to Rhade that they weren't just going to let him go. But that still begged the question; the question that Dylan had been asking himself since Rhade flew back into his life. Why Rhade? Why were they after Rhade? What was so important about Rhade? Rhade's jaw clenched under the scrutiny, before the other man finally spoke again. "I wouldn't."

 

Telemachus didn't move, but he didn't back down either. Before Dylan could react, the quiet one launched forward and pressed part of his gun into Dylan's injured shoulder. While it was just a graze and would have hurt more if it hadn't, Dylan still hissed in pain and instinctively jerked away from the man and the gun. And just like that, Rhade hade deflated and whatever he had been planning was abandoned. Rhade moved to reach Dylan's side and that was when the other man made his move. He hit Rhade on the back of the head, he knew the right spot and how hard to hit too. Nietzchean's were designed to withstand more pain then normal humans and were designed to stay conscious long enough to gain the advantage, but they were still essentially human. Telemachus fell to the ground, unconscious to the world before he even hit the floor.

 

"No-" Dylan was too late, not that they were going to listen to him anyway.

 

"We don't need him." One of the men pointed to Dylan, already raising their gun.

 

Dylan had been about to rebut that claim, when the guy standing over Telemachus chuckled. "Oh no. We need to keep him alive." He had seen how Rhade reacted to Dylan and smirked at the injured man. "I suspect he'll be how we control the Nietzchean. As long as he believes his Captain is in danger or will be; he'll cooperate. Besides, our leader may have uses for him, whose to say."

 

Dylan scowled, knowing how true that was. Rhade would do whatever they wanted if it was the only way to keep Dylan safe. But it was also their best way to find out the answers they needed.


	3. Caged

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harper is turning into more of a jerk towards Rhade than he was in the show but since he was a bit of a jerk to Rhade (understandably after what happened with Tyr), I figured it wouldn't be totally out of character for him. I do apologize to any Harper fans!

"Come on, Rhade. Wake up!" Dylan pleaded.

They were in a dungeon-esq setting, no surprise there, but the whole way to their cage, Rhade had not stirred. Dylan kept a close eye on Rhade, but thankfully they had been left alone for the time being. They either had left to get their boss or they were waiting for Rhade to wake up before they came after the both of them. Dylan both wanted Rhade to awaken, just to make sure his friend was okay, but he also wanted Rhade to stay under. The longer he stayed unconscious, presumably the longer he'd remain safe. He knew Rhade and  knew the man would be able to handle anything the bad guys threw at him. Or Rhade would tell him that he could handle it. Though he trusted Rhade and knew he was a Nietzchean; knew that they were designed to endure more pain than any normal human. Dylan did not find that to be a blessing. However, he did understand why, considering what the Nietzchean's were bred for and how they turned out. Having that extra bit of endurance towards pain could mean life or death for Nietzchean's. It supposedly eliminated the chance of a Nietzchean passing out during the heat of a battle and getting killed. The downside to that quirk was found in their current situation. If they were captured, and Dylan had to face the fact that it was becoming a weekly occurrence, and going to be tortured; it would only keep him conscious longer and prolong his suffering. Most definitely a curse, in Dylan's opinion. Dylan shook his head, he was jumping ahead of himself. There was no guarantee that Rhade or himself were going to get tortured. They wanted or needed Rhade for something. Just the threat of torturing one of them would no doubt be enough to get what they needed. They would play the game, like they always did. Sadly none of them were strangers to getting used and abused.

His hands were stroking Rhade's face and through his hair. He was revealing too much. These guys were smart enough to capture them off of an exploding planet. So they had to have monitors of some kind in or around their cell. And Dylan was practically telling their captors they were together, or that he felt **something** for Rhade. But he couldn't help himself. With Rhade still unconscious, Dylan needed some sort of reassurance. What worried him more, was not that they were in a cage, but what he could see just outside the cage. Just in front of the cell was a small raised platform. On either side of it lay handcuffs to keep someone secured there. It didn't look good, but Dylan tried not to let his imagination run wild. He'd come up with a lot of terrible scenario's, scenario's that he was now thinking about. Taking a deep breath, Dylan regained his control. He needed to be objective if he was going to get them out of there.

"You breathe loudly." Rhade complained.

Though aside from his lips moving, nothing else did. Dylan froze at the voice of Telemachus. His one hand was still in Rhade's hair, while the other had frozen on his cheek. Dylan kept his voice low, unsure if the monitors could pick up sound or not. "How long have you been awake?"

"Ten or fifteen minutes."

Dylan glanced away guiltily. Rhade had felt and known he had been touching him as a lover would. Dylan wasn't sure what to say to Rhade to keep Rhade from knowing. "Look Rhade,"Dylan started as he removed his hands from his weapons officer.

"Don't..."

Dylan gazed down at Rhade, confused. "Don't?" Then Dylan jumped to the wrong conclusion. "I'm sorry for it. I ...just needed some reassurance. You got hit on the head pretty hard."

Rhade had wanted to pretend, just a little longer, but it wasn't meant to be. He resisted the urge to sigh out loud, and finally opened his eyes. Brown eyes stared deeply into blue ones. Rhade saw how scared Dylan was, but he didn't know what Dylan was frightened of. They'd been in worse situations before. Right? "They had to, otherwise I might not have been knocked out."

"How are you feeling?"

"Some pain, but I'll be okay. Have we learned anything about them or the facility yet? Aside from the fact that I'm the one they're after."

Dylan frowned and shook his head. "The facility looks like some big maze. I wouldn't even be able to tell you where to go to get back to the room we got captured in. The doors and halls all look the same. And as soon as they put us in here they disappeared. I haven't got any new information on them. After you fell unconscious, they were incredibly tight-lipped the entire way to our cell."

"Perfect."

Dylan eyed Rhade,"Oh come on Rhade. Stop being so pessimistic. We'll get out of this. I mean, hell, we survived an exploding planet. After that there's nothing we won't survive."

"Wow. You're going to be using that for the next several months, aren't you?"

"It'll be my new pep talk." Dylan cracked a small smile, but it was mainly to hide the fact that he did have concerns about their predicament. He had a nasty hunch that they were going to be put through hell before they escaped, or before the cavalry arrived. He just hoped that they hadn't survived an exploding world, to did in some unknown facility.

"What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?"

Rhade gave Dylan a stubborn look. "Your forehead crinkles slightly when you're in distress, you lips pout sideways, and you get this faraway gaze to your eyes. Now do I need to start listing off how I can tell your upset by using my Nietzchean senses?"

"Okay, okay. You can stop." Dylan had sounded like a petulant little kid. "I'm just worried. We came in here blind and are completely unprepared for what we're going to be facing later."

Rhade admitted to some fear, to himself. He had no idea what they wanted from him, and he was sure things would turn ugly later. But he was Nietzchean, he could handle whatever they threw at him. He would, if not for his sake than for Dylan's. "Maybe. But you're the one that told me we were going to survive and get out of here. Why the change of mind? Or was that another one of your beneficial lies?"

There was a short livid glare, but Dylan shrugged his shoulders. "We will get out of here. I just don't like our odds right now."

"We have been through and survived worse. But there's something that's definitely got you worried besides your own concerns over the cage we're in. What aren't you telling me?"

Dylan shook his head,"Call it a gut feeling. But...I just don't want anything to happen to you. I don't want to lose you."

It was a nice sentiment, and it was nice to hear, but Rhade didn't see or hear anything other then friendship in his words. He couldn't be upset about it, however. Dylan was a good friend, the best, to have and he only hoped he could live up to Dylan's example. "You won't. I'll be able to take whatever they do to me. I promise. First thing we need to figure out if we can't get out, is what they want from me."

"Are you going to give them what they want?"

Rhade couldn't look Dylan in the eyes for too long. "If I can."

"No." Dylan hissed quietly. "I'm giving you an order. You will not give them anything. Not if it puts the Andromeda and our crew in danger."

"And what about you? What if they threaten your life?" Dylan didn't let up and Rhade took a breath in,"Understood, sir."

"You will follow my order?"

"Yes, Captain."

Dylan still looked skeptical, but so far Rhade obeyed orders, even the ones he didn't like. And he trusted Telemachus, Damnit! He wasn't ruled by his past, by Gaheris, and he wanted to prove to Rhade that he held his trust. He was just as weighed down by the past and by Gaheris he realized, as Telemachus was. Dylan often forgot that Telemachus was plagued by his ancestors actions. He sometimes assumed Telemachus wasn't, since he didn't remember Gaheris' role in the rebellion; like he did. But he had never told Telemachus what had happened. Under those conditions, it had to be worse. It left Rhade's own imagination to fill in the blanks. He clapped Rhade on the shoulder, a little awkwardly.

"I..." Dylan glanced to Rhade and waited for him to finish his thought. "I don't think I could forgive myself if I let anything happen to you."

"Telemachus-"

"I'll obey your order...but I won't forgive myself."

There was a pout tugging at Dylan's lips, but he stood up and turned away from Rhade, giving them both the distance they needed. Especially after the being caught stroking his face fondly. If he could help Rhade in any way, he would, but he knew if things did take a turn for the worst Rhade was the one that had to live with himself if carried out the order. There was no use pretending to still be unconscious, so Rhade stood up and gave his surroundings a quick study, though his thoughts were not on their temporary habitat. If Dylan got hurt or killed because he kept his mouth shut, then he knew he would have failed in his silent oath to do whatever was necessary to keep his Captain safe. But if he kept his oath, he'd have to disobey orders-to go against Dylan and betray him and his trust. He'd be no better then Gaheris. He grabbed at the bars and tried to shake them and test them.

"Hey Rhade, stop." Rhade kicked at the bars after he removed his hands from them. "I already tried that. There's no way out of this cell. Not at the moment. We'll just have to wait and see how this all plays out."

"Oh great plan." Rhade sighed, waiting around for their captors and whatever nefarious scheme they had was irritating and it was beginning to show. His eyes did catch sight of the small staging area out in front of the cell.

Dylan restrained himself from lashing out at his Nietzchean,"Well I don't hear you coming up with a better one." He approached Rhade slowly when he didn't rise to the bait. His eyes immediately went to what had captured Telemachus' attention. His brown eyes were hard and had gone cold. "Rhade?"

"One of us is going to be put on display right?"

"I think we're already on display, don't you?"

Rhade scoffed, but nodded in agreement. "You got me there."

 

" **We've** actually got you." A short stocky man entered through the far door. He wore dark robes and pinned to his collar was the symbol representing the Collectors. Following in the small man's wake was a very tall guy, with large and intimidating muscles. Compared to the small round Collector, his bodyguard was the exact opposite in every physical respect. Their vastly different looks would have been comical if the circumstances were different. The muscle-bound wall tottered behind the Collector with loud thuds each time he took another step. The small man grinned at both Dylan and Rhade, but they saw the malevolence in his toothy grin.

"No Pish?" Dylan asked, mainly to get the man's narrow and flat hazel eyes off of Rhade. Of course, he played it off like he was trying to get more information out of their captors and the more fake bravado he mustered the more they'd buy his performance. The round man's eyes grew more dangerous and they knew they were facing a true sociopath. Pish, he was a weak man who fell prey to the corruption of greed and lust for power. It was a sad tale, and a typical life for a cowardly man like Pish. But everything he did was to further gain and grasp for power, and greed. This man...he looked just crazy enough to indulge in the vile acts he committed for his own influence. If the man did enjoy himself than he'd be vastly different from Pish.

As if he read Dylan's mind, he let his eyes drift away from Rhade. Pish is a moron. His knowledge spans three galaxies..." He barked out a laugh. He let his filthy leer go back in Rhade's direction. "And yet he plays in the sandbox with his feral animals." The man was quick enough to reach in the cage and glide his fingers down Rhade's cheek before Telemachus jerked away from the touch and growled softly under his breath. "Feral." He spoke in Dylan's direction.

He continued on as he briefly turned his back on his prisoners; not caring much about them-save for whatever he wanted or needed from them. Dylan glanced at Rhade to see if he was okay, but all he saw was Rhade's stiff backside. "Pish was nothing compared to me, Jaran Urvan. So if you thought Pish was bad with his meager show of power and deception then you're in for a rude awakening."

Dylan was irritated, and maybe he just needed to show that he was not afraid or still in charge of the situation, but he couldn't help himself and opened his big mouth. "So far, all I've seen is a lot of Pish. Posturing and running your mouth. But just like Pish, I'm not seeing any action."

"Dylan." Rhade hissed low, but his attempted to quiet the HeavyWorlder down did not do a thing.

He nodded his head and the sound of the cell buzzed and the door opened. The large man had a weapon trained on Dylan and Rhade watched warily. "I'm going to request your presence Rhade." He spat out Rhade's name like it was bile in his mouth. "And if you don't cooperate your Captain will get shot in a place of my choosing. You will get to choose where he gets shot the second time; assuming he survives the first shot." There was a tense pause, before Urvan gestured to Rhade. "The caged animal. He's assessing all the possible ways out and his chances of survival and escape. Notice the bone blades sticking up, ready to attack."

Due to Rhade pausing too long, his bodyguard got Urvan's cue and took aim. Rhade watched in horror as Dylan got shot, right in front of him and he had stood there and did nothing. _**He watched!**_ Dylan had yelled out, groaned and fell to the floor. "..Dylan. Dylan!"

"I-I'm okay." His voice was shaky, but Dylan had responded; that is what mattered. He was alive. He dared to move just close enough to see that Dylan had been shot in his right arm.

"He'll be loyal like the dog he is, right Nietzchean? You'll submit. You don't want any more harm to come to your Captain. Or do you want to tell Grizz here where to aim next?"

His twisted smirk had returned to his face and Dylan nor Rhade could stop the shivers from running down their spines. Rhade didn't waste any more time, letting his bone blades relax, he stepped slowly out of the cell. Rhade's jaw was tensed as he let Grizz, the bodyguard, grab him roughly by the neck and herd him to the center of the room. Grizz managed to toss him like a ragdoll and Rhade had fallen to his knees.

"Right where you belong." Urvan commented dryly.

Rhade's head snapped up and he could not contain the anger or hatred from his face.

"Racist bastards." Dylan shouted just as the cell door closed and locked. Grizz brought his weapon back up and aimed it at Dylan; it was the only gesture that kept Rhade from tearing out Urvan's throat as he stood back up and mustered as much composure and dignity as he could.

* * *

 

Trance was fretting as she went over the screen. There had been no further communication with the Eureka Maru, but on the bright side, there was no further indication of enemies either. Since there were no Nietzchean's or any other unknown ships in the system, Trance decided to count it as a win. Or well it was a win so far, she'd definitely count it as a win once Beka and Harper were back on the Andromeda. She stood at the station, going over different things to keep herself busy. However, she could see Rommie out of the corner of her eye, just standing there; waiting for her, for the answers she was seeking. Finally, Trance could take no more of her staring and she glanced up. "What is it?"

Rommie's eyes widened a fraction. "Are you kidding me?" Trance kept her composure, but her eyes softened as she watched Andromeda. "Isolne explodes...with Dylan and Rhade planet-side." She closed her eyes, presumably to get a hold of her own emotions. "And Nietzchean's attack us and the Eureka Maru, before you can give me any answers. What exactly is going on here?"

"Why do you automatically think I would know the answers?"

Rommie's eyes narrowed at that. "You can see and influence possible future's Trance. You must know something."

"I knew there was something wrong with Isolne. I didn't know what at first, but I knew something was going to happen. It's funny, but it still feels like we're in some sort of huge trap."

"Are they dead?" Rommie interjected, she had her priorities. "Did Dylan and Telemachus die in the explosion?"

Trance gave a shake of her head. "No I would know if Dylan were dead. He's definitely still alive."

This eased Andromeda for a second, but noticed she had only mentioned Dylan by name and her posture sagged. "What about Rhade?"

Trance was silent and it made Andromeda uncomfortable. "I'm sure he's fine. He's with Dylan and Dylan would have done everything humanly possible to keep Rhade alive as well."

Rommie crossed her arms, but was willing to operate under the assumption that Dylan and Rhade were both still alive, until they found evidence to the contrary. "If you knew that something was wrong...then why didn't you warn Dylan or...at least go with him? Why did you let him go off with Rhade?"

Trance wondered, not for the first time, if Rommie still distrusted Rhade or if there was another reason why Rommie seemed so against Dylan being paired with Rhade. She could understand if that were the case. Gaheris had betrayed Dylan and by extension the Commonwealth and Andromeda. They all knew the story, but it was Dylan and Rommie that had lived it. Rommie probably did have reservations to seeing her Captain go off on missions with a Rhade who looked exactly the same as the Rhade that had betrayed them. Trance also understood if Rommie couldn't admit to it, but Trance knew Telemachus was different. She often wanted to help Telemachus, but the sad reality was that he'd feel he had to spend the rest of his life making up for the mistakes of his ancestor unless something drastic changed him. It wasn't right or fair in Trance's opinion.

"I didn't go with Dylan because I felt if anything happened to him; it'd be better for him if I was on the Andromeda. I could help locate him or help him from here. And...if I didn't go with him, then it had to be Rhade."

Rommie walked closer to Trance, confusion and concern written on her face. "Why did it have to be Rhade?"

Trance looked to her Bonsai tree and her fingers lightly touched the leaves. Rommie noticed and assumed she had reached out for her own sense of comfort. "Some future's are clear, so clear it's hard to know which reality is real. And then there are other future's that are fuzzy. Broken up, where I only see pieces, here and there. With everyone else...the tiny fragment of finding Dylan...he was always carrying his bloodied companion and they were dead. I say tiny fragment because it's uncertain if we'll even find Dylan. Rhade was also dragged in bloody by Dylan. He looked worse then the others, it...was bad, real bad. But he was the only one still breathing. If....IF we can find Dylan and make that future a reality, there'll be a chance that I can save Rhade."

Rommie wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she asked the next logical question. "Where are they? I'm not going to suggest we go after them now. But I want to know where we're going once the Eureka Maru, along with Beka and even Harper are back on board."

"They're shrouded in darkness."

Rommie placed a hand on Trance's shoulder,"I mean no disrespect Trance, but what is that suppose to mean?"

Trance sighed,"I don't know yet. I think they're in uncharted territory. Somewhere even I have never been to. If I'm right it's going to be very tricky slip piloting required. We'll definitely need Beka."

"Well hopefully their repair's won't take too much longer."

As if on cue, Andromeda's main A.I interrupted,"Incoming message from the Eureka Maru."

Trance nodded her head,"Put it on screen."

Instantly a pixelated image of Beka appeared and Trance gave her friend a warm smile. Beka was in the engine room, but she couldn't see where Seamus was. "Repairs are moving along, I would say one more hour."

They all heard Harper scoff in the background. "Do I look like I can perform miracles? I work well under pressure, but even a handsome engineer like yours truly has his limits."

Beka gave a sidelong stare at Harper with pursed lips. "One hour Harper."

"Uhh...no can do Boss. You wouldn't place a butterfly bandage over someone who had just had major surgery. And let me tell you: This bucket of bolts needs major surgery."

There was a scowl on Beka's face as she started rubbing some part of the Eureka Maru's console. "He didn't mean it baby."

"Yes I did." Harper shouted back.

"So how long will the repairs take Harper?" Trance asked, loudly enough to be heard.

Harper listed off a bunch of things wrong with the Maru before he popped up beside Beka onto the screen. "The very least I'll need is another three hours. If you expect me to be all godly and perform the impossible."

"I don't suppose you guys could speed up the repair time." Rommie rocked on the balls of her feet.

"Why?" Beka narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Are you guys in trouble? Let me guess, Dylan and Rhade have run into trouble on Isolne. I told you, you should have been the one to go down with Dylan."

Harper laughed in a mocking tone,"That hard headed bone-licker couldn't find hostage's if they we're staring him in the face."

Beka shook her head in a slight dismissive way. Trance glanced away, upset with Seamus' light racism and inappropriate joke regarding their new Nietzchean friend. Rommie, despite her own feelings, also felt some apprehension over Harper's joke. Beka noticed and her light-hearted mood faded away. "Something happened to Dylan...or to Rhade, didn't it?"

"We don't want you to worry. Get the repairs you need to get done, but we do need you back on the Andromeda as soon as possible."

"Copy that." Beka replied. She was in serious mode and turned to enact repairs with Harper as she broke the connection.

Rommie turned to Trance and pulled her into a hug. "They'll be okay Trance. Beka and Harper will return, we'll do what we do best, defeat the odds. We'll find Dylan and Rhade, and you'll save Rhade. Harper will feel like an ass for all the petty jokes and insults he slings at Rhade, and if he doesn't, I'll make him feel guilty for it. But this time next week, everything will be back to normal."

"I hope you're right."


End file.
